Disney's beloved modern classic is finally getting its sequel with Disenchanted, but there's one twist: it almost wholly subverts the point of the first movie's happy ever after. Enchanted captured the hearts of audiences far and wide, so much so that now, over a decade later, its story and comedic charm persevere, even if some of the film is brutally honest in calling out its Disney predecessors for their clichés.
2007's Enchanted introduced the world to Giselle as she literally fell right into the heart of Manhattan. She was plucked out of her life in a fairy tale to suffer in the real world. In New York, she met Patrick Dempsey's Robert and embarked on a quest to find her true love, who she believed was her fiancé, Edward. There is no fairy Godmother in Enchanted to guide her, though, only a chipmunk named Pip. So, she accidentally caused a lot of problems while she was in New York. During her time in the Big Apple, she helped Robert fix his relationship with his girlfriend, Nancy -- played by Idina Menzel -- after she put a significant strain on them. Of course, when Giselle and Prince Edward got closer to reunification, his evil stepmother puts a damper on things. Eventually, Giselle got her true love's kiss with Robert, and they seemingly lived happily ever after.
Disenchanted Brings the Same Self-Awareness as Its Predecessor
Well, that doesn't really last for long, which is shown in early glimpses of the film. Not much about the plot is known, aside from the D23 reveals and Disenchanted's trailer. The latter revealed that Giselle is not the same princess that once graced Time Square. She's turning into an evil stepmother. The charm of her happily ever after fades dramatically after Giselle, Robert, and their two children move to a new suburb. The sequel features the lovable redhead accidentally bringing the fairy-tale whimsy of Andalasia to her suburban life. Of course, this wreaks new kinds of havoc on the whole group.
This flip in plots is an excellent thing for the sequel, and it perfectly encapsulates some of the first movie's value. Enchanted was the perfect blend of satire, realism, and fairy tale -- the first of its kind from Disney. This can be seen in the clear divide between Giselle's world of Andalasia and Robert's life in the real world. When Giselle starts singing out of the blue or talking to animals -- common Disney princess traits -- the people around her think she's delusional. Robert also questions the logic of many of her choices, including marrying someone after one day of knowing them. This would be a similar conversation a few years later in another Idina Menzel hit, Frozen. In short, Enchanted possesses a sense of self-awareness while still providing a brilliant modern fairy-tale classic. This means that the sequel will possibly share this, and it already does, in a way.
How Disenchanted Flips Happy Ever After on Its Head
The idea of a happily-ever-after, true love's kiss and a relationship lasting forever are all common themes in Enchanted, particularly in Giselle's world. The examples above are only a few instances where Giselle's fantasy life and the real world clash in a very obvious manner. Oftentimes, real-world characters, like Nancy or Morgan, are quick to call out the weirdness of Giselle's beliefs. From what little has been revealed about Disenchanted -- including new characters like Malvina Monroe -- it's fair to say that Enchanted's themes are all squashed in its sequel. The most obvious of this happens front and center in Disenchanted: Giselle has to conjure up a new happy ever after. Such a thing is almost unheard of for a Disney film, especially considering Enchanted revolves around the idea of a happy-ever-after and the perfection of relationships.
Disenchanted brings more reality to this classic fairy-tale story. Audiences watching in the real world can appreciate these changes for many reasons, obvious and subtle. Simply put, not every happy ending lasts forever, and sometimes life requires more than one. Giselle's struggles in both films to find her happy-ever-after match the struggles of people in the real world. This perfectly subverts the running theme of most Disney features and adds another layer of complexity to this beloved story.
See the long-awaited sequel when Disenchanted premieres on Disney+ on Nov. 18.